Excise Case: Delhi Court warns AAP's Sanjay Singh not to give political speech in Court

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday warned Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh not to give a political speech here in the courtroom and said if such speeches are made, then the court will direct his production through video conferencing.

The judge made the remark after Sanjay Singh claimed before the court that the ED didn't work on his complaint given to the agency "against Adani". "No unrelated matter. If you want to give a speech on Adani and Modi. I'll ask for production through video conferencing from now onwards," the judge said.

Special Judge MK Nagpal sent Sanjay Singh to Judicial Custody till October 27, 2023, after the probe agency produced him before the court on the expiry of his custodial interrogation granted earlier.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Singh's lawyer moved an application for permission from the Court to allow him to carry 16 different books authored by Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia, Bhagat Singh and others. The court allowed them to carry books and medicine as per the jail manual.

During his production in the courtroom, AAP leader Sanjay Singh claimed that during his custodial interrogation granted earlier, the ED did asked non-serious and unrelated questions.

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday also moved the Delhi High Court challenging his arrest in the Delhi Liquor scam case and has also challenged the remand granted by the trial court.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 4, 2023, arrested Sanjay Singh after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence.

Sanjay Singh's party colleague and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia of Delhi was also arrested in the same liquor policy scam case in March this year.

ED claims that Singh and his associates played a part in the Delhi government's decision to give licenses to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws.

ED has previously searched a number of locations including the residences and offices of Sanjay Singh's close associate Ajit Tyagi and other contractors and businessmen who allegedly benefited from the policy. In its nearly 270-page supplementary charge sheet, the ED has called Sisodia a key conspirator in the case.

The Delhi liquor scam case or the excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge that has been strongly refuted by the AAP.

ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken over 200 search operations in this case after filing an FIR after taking cognizance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary's report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010.

The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection. (ANI)